Newsletters May 2010
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DONALA WATER AND SANITATION DISTRICT ELECTION RESULTS The results of our election for directors and debt questions will not be available until about the time you receive this newsletter. Thanks in advance to all who voted and especially to the candidates for Board of Director positions. Results and the new Board line up of officers will be posted on the Donala website and in the June Newsletter.
2010 IRRIGATION RATIONING PROGRAM Once again, we will be conducting the irrigation-rationing program this year. Remember just because the City of Colorado Springs is not rationing, does not mean those of us on well water aren’t. Remember, Donala’s water comes from the Denver Basin of aquifers, a depleting supply. Until we have obtained a significant renewable water supply, customers can expect to continue on the irrigation-rationing program initiated in 2007. Below are the procedures for 2010, beginning on Monday, May 31, and continuing through Monday, September 6th. We ask that you voluntarily follow the schedule as well before and after the mandatory period.
Residential: For odd number addresses – Irrigation allowed on Monday, Wednesday and Friday For even number addresses – Irrigation allowed on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday NO IRRIGATION ON SUNDAY (call for a waiver if you want Sunday vs. Saturday or Monday)
Ridge Point Apartments – M,W,F Gleneagle Civic Assoc. – T,Th, Sat. Sun Mesa Townhomes – T,Th, Sat. Club Villa Townhomes – M,W,F Sunrise Townhomes – M,W,F Eagle Villas Townhomes – M,W,F Gleneagle Square Shop. Center – M,W,F Gleneagle Townhomes – T,Th, Sat. Shops in the Glen – T,Th, Sat. Gleneagle Golf Club & Greens – M,W,F Peoples National Bank – M,W,F Eagle Point HOA – T, Th, Sat. The Place – T,Th, Sat. Antelope Trails Elementary – M,W,F Gleneagle Exec. Center – M,W,F Bethesda Executive Office Bldgs – T,Th,Sat. Paradise Villas Townhomes – T,TH,Sat. Donald Wescott Fire Dept. – T,Th, Sat. Academy View Storage – T,Th, Sat. Ridge at Fox Run HOA – M,W,F Falcon’s Nest III HOA – M,W,F Nichlas Court Patio Homes – T,Th, Sat. Struther’s Ranch I HOA – T,Th, Sat. Gleneagle North HOA – M,W,F Summer Glen Townhomes – M,W,F
Irrigation times are between Midnight and 9 AM, and between 6 PM and Midnight. Hand watering of dry spots or flowers/vegetable gardens is permissible any day between 6 PM and 9 AM. For new plants, hand water on any single day, any time. Portable lawn sprinkling devices left on for any period of time are not defined as “hand watering”, and are limited to the same schedule above. We issued waivers in 2009 for customers with special circumstances (no automatic system, new lawns, etc.) The bottom line is everyone gets to water their lawn three days a week. For a waiver, please call us. We are very flexible. However, there will be no “grace period” and courtesy letters this year, except for new Donala customers who were not here last summer. See www.donalawater.org Rules & Regulations for penalties. The program also applies to those with the ET manager system. Call us and one of our operators will assist in programming the ET controller.
1. Water lawn areas for 40 minutes, garden areas for 15-20 minutes. Note: If your system is sophisticated enough, you may want to set up two periods of shorter durations on the lawn areas within the allowable time. This is often touted as the best way to be sure the water gets down to the roots and doesn’t evaporate as much. 2. Keep grass about 5” long. Allows the water to hold and doesn’t dry up as much. 3. Turn system off if it is raining or has recently rained since your last watering. Program will not change. 4. If the wind is so strong it is blowing the water off the area to be irrigated, consider turning the system off. Watering the street, driveway, and/or neighbor’s lawn doesn’t do you much good.
Procedures for setting programs: Most automatic irrigation systems have either a 14 day or a 30 day program controller. Most start on Monday. Therefore, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday irrigators should set their 14 day controllers to operate on Days, 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, and 12. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday irrigators should set to operate on Days 2, 4, 6, 9, 11, and 13. There should be no operation on Days 7 and 14. Thirty-day controllers will be the same and obviously continued on through 30. If you have trouble setting your program, contact the district for assistance.
Enforcement: The District Rules and Regulations spell out the penalties for non-compliance with the rationing program. The first “violation” will incur a Warning Letter. The second Warning Letter will contain notification of a fine to be assessed for the third violation. The third offense incurs a $25 penalty. Fourth offense costs $50 and a disconnect notice if there are any further violations. The fifth offense will result in termination of water service and applicable “re-connect” fees.
NOTE: This program is NOT intended to promote conflicts between neighbors. We are not asking customers to call in violations. If you wish to do so anonymously, we will take the information and investigate on our own. Violations will be verified before penalty fines are assessed.
Please understand that this program is just one of several conservation measures we are taking in order to maintain our water supply. It is important for the longevity of our system, and eventually for the value of your property. We thank you in advance for your cooperation.
PART-TIME CONSERVATION MANAGER Donala is considering hiring a part-time Environment/Conservation Manager. Duties will include landscape/xeriscape training for District constituents, including landscape design/architecture, managing the conservation plan, irrigation rationing, rebates, working with HOA’s and others to conserve water, and working environmental issues. Master Gardner or Landscape Design experience is a must! Salary; $16-$20 per hour, DOE. Twenty hour week. Benefits potentially available. Please-qualified applicants only. Contact the District at 488-3603. STORM WATER INFILTRATION IS ILLEGAL Some of you may remember when it really rained last. In early May 1999, it rained and rained, and the ground quickly became saturated. Many of your foundations were inundated with groundwater leaks. Our collection system (sewer pipes) was overwhelmed with infiltration. Much of it was in the manholes, and some was from leaky pipes. We spent almost 2 million dollars upgrading the old pipes and tightening up the manholes. Many times though, we discover houses with sump pumps pumping into the basement drain. This may be a tempting way to get rid of this nuisance water, but DON’T DO IT!! Storm water in our sewer system is illegal because it hydraulically overloads the treatment plant. It will also wash out the biological process. The result is that the plant does not function properly and we risk putting effluent down the creek that is not properly treated. The end result of too much infiltration and inflow into the sewer system is that we will be required to expand too soon with too few taxpayers to pay for it. Do yourselves a favor – don’t pump storm or ground water into the sewer system!!!
HOW MUCH WATER DOES YOUR IRRIGATION SYSTEM USE?
Anyone can do the same analysis on their own system, and I encourage you to do so. Here is what to do. Turning on one zone at a time and WITH NO OTHER WATER DEMAND ON IN THE HOUSE, stand by your water meter and read it while timing it. In other words, check the reading at a time hack, and check it again one minute later. The dial on most of your meters reads in gallon increments – one time around the dial is ten gallons. The result will be gallons per minute for that particular zone. Move on to the next zone and do it again. Do that for each of your zones. Now take each result and multiply it by the number of minutes you run that zone per watering cycle. Add up all the increments and you come out with the amount of water your system uses in one watering cycle. Assume you water everyday that you are allowed to with the odd/even rationing schedule, and you end up with 12-14 days per month. In my system, for the month of July 2010 (13 days) I will use 35,802 gallons if I water every day I am allowed to. That will cost me $172.60 in outside water alone. That does include the $13 minimum, but you’ll need to add your normal winter demand amount to approximate indoor use during the same month.
Several factors weigh into this calculation. First and foremost is your water pressure. Most pressure regulators on our homes are set at 55-65 psi, and that’s a good place for them. Some folks have two regulators – one before and one after the offshoot to the irrigation system. That way they can turn up the first one and have higher pressure to run the system, while leaving the second regulator at factory settings and protecting the indoor plumbing from high-pressure surges. Most of the single-family homes in Donala have a one-inch water supply line. Some however, have a ¾” line. That also will make a difference, but it is not one you can do much about now.
Because pressure and the size of the supply line determine the output of a system, it is interesting to note the difference that having more heads on a sprinkler zone make. Initially you might think that having more heads delivers more water. Not so after a certain amount. Certainly, two heads will supply more than one, but not twice as much. For example, on one of my spray nozzle zones, I have 6 heads and it does 8.5 GPM. Another zone has 16 heads, and it does 12.5 GPM. I found that the maximum output from my system was 13 GPM, regardless of the number of heads. This is all very logical, and it is another thing you can look at when you are “inventorying” your system.
In summary, a simple check of your own system while watching your water meter and a watch, followed by some simple math will tell you how much water your irrigation system will use this summer. For my own system, I know that I am going to make some changes – do away with two heads, and maybe one whole zone while I do some more xeriscaping. I also know I’m not going to water every day that I can just because I can. Obviously – 35,802 gallons of water is a lot of water and in fact it would fill up a standard two-car garage to the ceiling. It is also enough water to sustain a normal Donala single family home for 5 months in the winter. Think about that – we use enough water on our lawns in one month to sustain our entire family for five months of no irrigation. THINK WATER! THINK SMART! BE WATER SMART!!
BOOK REVIEW “National Geographic”
Those of us who get National Geographic undoubtedly have noticed the theme of this month’s edition. It is a special on WATER. At this writing I am only about half way through it, but already I’ve learned some very interesting things about the world’s most precious resource. There is even mention in an early article about the use of Kentucky Bluegrass where it doesn’t belong (sound familiar?), and Colorado’s test case of capturing rainwater for agricultural use. The most interesting part so far is the map in the middle of the magazine which depicts the cost of water around the world. We all know (or should) that we have been spending a lot less for water than we probably should have been. I was especially surprised that out here in the west where we know there is a water shortage, we seem to be paying less for water than most folks in the United States – MUCH less than most folks in the rest of the developed world. Following is a comparison of costs per thousand gallons of water:
New York City - $8.00 Philadelphia - $11.21 Memphis - $3.00 Detroit - $11.30 Phoenix - $8.50 Ft. Worth - $8.80 Las Vegas - $7.70 San Diego - $16.50 Berlin, Germany - $25.30 Copenhagen - $34.30
DONALA - $3.30 There is no way to tell from the map whether the cost includes a minimum monthly charge. I assume that it does not. There is also no method of comparing other forms of revenue – I.e.: taxes. Suffice it to say however, that water rates vary all over the world. There are places in the third world where there is no charge at all. Unfortunately, there are many of the same places that don’t have any water to sell. As we have discovered here in Donala, the water is available…. we will always have a supply. We have worked very hard to get to that position, and we will continue to work on it. But it is going to cost us all more and more every year, not only to bring in the supply, but to keep up with the environmental concerns of water quality. THINK WATER! THINK $$$! BE WATER AND $$$ WISE! CONSERVE!!!
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